Current take-off



May 11, 1943. J. E. HUGUELET CURRENT TAKE-OFF Filed May 2, 19-41 3 Sheets-Sheet l M, E@ #7 @g as www May 1l, 1943. J. E. HUGUELET CURRENT TAKE-OFF Filed May 2, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 :FIG.1H.

May 11, 1943. v J. E. HUGUELET CURRENT TAKE-OFF Filed May '2, 1941 3 Sheets-5heet 3 www."

y@ MM as Worm Patented May 11, 1943 CURRENT TAKE-OFF John E. Huguelet, Mount Lebanon, Pa., assignor to National Electric Products Corporation, a

corporation oi' Delaware Application May z, 1941, serial No. 391,470

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a current take-01T device for use in electrical distribution systems.

Electrical distribution systems, of the type in which bus-bars are mounted within a housing structure to form what is in eiect an electrical duct. may be used in the manner explained in my pending application Serial No. 385,912, led March 29, 1941, directly to feed the motors of industrial machines by using current take-off devices to make direct contact with the bus-bars. These current take-01T devices are of various types with and without overload protection, such as a fusible switch, a fused-disconnect, takeoil.' devices in which a circuit breaker is included, and simple contact devices arranged to make cntact with the bus-bars to establish load connection with the bus-bars.

All such generally described current take-off devices include contact prongs adapted to be inserted through openings in the duct housing into contact-making engagement with the bus-bars. a housing enclosing the various elements of the current take-011 devices, and insulating structure in which the contact-making elements of the current take-ofi device are mounted. 'I'hese current take-off devices are also organized to make electrical contact in various ways. as by hinged contact-carrying elements, or by an arrangement in which the several contact-making instrumentalities of the device are brought into operative position by simple straight-line movement.

It is` the object of my invention to provide a structural adapter unit including contact-making elements for connection to the bus-bars. and an insulating mounting therefor, which is usable in association with any of the variously modified additional elements usually included in current take-oil' devices of the general sort above described. The advantage of so doing is that in manufacture, distribution, and ,use of electrical distribution systems in which direct connection between the bus-bars of the system and a load device such as an electrical motor iscontemplated, the problems of both the manufacturer and the user are simplified by having a unitary contact-making assembly which may be included with conductive or control elements of different sort to complete the current take-01T connection between the bus-bars and a load conductor.

In the accompanying drawings, exemplary of an embodiment of my invention:

Fig. I is a longitudinal, vertical sectional view. taken fragmentarily through a bus-bar-containing duct and through a current take-off device including the novel structural arrangement of my invention.

Fig. II is a cross-sectional view taken generally in the plane of the section line II--II of Fig. I but showing the contact elements of the assembly in elevation.

Fig. III is a plan view of my novel unitary assembly of contact-making elements and insulating mounting therefor.

Fig. IV is an isometric detail view of a connector element corresponding to those shown in Figs. I, II, and III of the drawings.

Fig. V is an isometric detail view showing a connector element of modied form which is adapted to inclusion in my unitary assembly of contact-making elements and insulating mounting structure therefor.

Fig. VI is a cross-sectional view showing my contact-making assembly included in a current take-off device in which the control is provided by a ,circuit breaker, the plane in which this crosssection is taken being distorted sufliciently to show. clearly the arrangement of the connector elements of the assembly and terminal screws 'carried by them.

Fig. VII is a vertical, longitudinal, sectional view through the structure shown in Fig. VI taken in the plane of the section line VII-VII of Fig. VI.

Referring now specically to the drawings, reference numeral l designates the bus-bars of an electrical distribution system, which bus-bars are shown as mounted in bus-bar supports 2. The housing for the bus-bars and bus-bar supports. which is fragmentarily shown in Figs. I and II of the drawings, is designated generally by reference numeral 3. Contact with the bus-bars I is made by means of contact prongs l, which form elements of the unitary contact-making assembly of my invention.

'I'he exemplary current take-off device, as shown in Figs. I and II'of the drawings, is of the sort known as a fused-disconnect. It consists of a housing having four side and end walls 5 and a cover 6. In one of the side walls 5 there is a connector 1, which engages a load conductor 8, and which includes a slotted contact plate 9. On the inner face of the cover 6 there are insulating members I0, which carry fuse clips Il and 'I2 engaging between them cartridge fuses I3. In this exemplary structure the fuse clip Il makes wiping contact in the slotted connector plate 9, and the fuse clip I2 similarly makes contact with a connector I4 forming part of my unitary contact-making assembly.

The contact-making assembly includes an integral insulator block I5 of porcelain, or some other suitable material or composition possessing the property of electrical insulation. In one face of insulator block I5 there are three connectormounting seats IS at which three of the connectors Ill are mounted by means of machine screws I'I. regions IS a hole I8 for contact prongs 4 is extended through the body of the block. At its base da, each of the contact prongs 4 is secured to the base plate of the connector, as -by means of rivets I9, and is extended through one of the holes I3 in the insulator block to project in position to embrace and make contact with one of the bus-bars I. Y

Desirably, as shown, each of the contact prongs is surrounded by an electrical guard 2D of suitl able fibrous insulating composition, which is secured in the body of the insulator block I5 in some suitable manner as by threaded engagement 2| therewith, and which is slotted from its lower end at 29a to permit the prongs to embrace a bus-bar.

As shown in Figs. I to IV inclusive of the drawings the connector I4 is a U shaped member having one of its legs Ilia serving as a base for mounting in the insulator block and for supporting en- Y gagement with one of the Contact prongs 4. The other leg Mb of the connector has therein a slot 22, to receive one of the fuse clips I2 i-n contactmaking engagement therewith.

It will be readily understood that the adapter unit composed of this unitary assembly of insulator block, connectors, andcontact prongs may vbe used with any of various Currentecontrol, or

current-conductive, elements'without change in its structure. Asis shown in Fig. IV of the drawings, the upper leg leb of the connector I4 has therein, additionally to clip-receiving slot 22, a hole 23 in which a terminal post may be mounted. If desired, simple direct connection to load may be made with the bus-bars of the electrical distribution system, merely by ymaking appropriate` connection with the connector I4. As a matter of convenience the form of the connector may be modified or simpliiied to conform to theabsence of current control means` or to current control means of differing sort. Thus in Fig. V of the drawings a modified form of connector 24 is shown connected by a terminal bolt 25 with Aa conductor strap 2.6 which in turn is connected by a terminal .bolt 2I and terminal connector 28 with the load conductor 8. It will be noted that in Fig. V the conductor bar, or strap, 25 is shown broken. v'This indicates that it may in factrepresenttwo conductor straps leading to and from Va circuit breaker, or other current control means.`

Both the base Ilia of connector I4 and the -base 24a of the modified connector 24 havertherein three pairs of rivet holes 29 for mounting engagement of a contact prong to the connector by the rivets I9. It will be noted that in Figs. II and III of the drawings the contact prongs 4 are .not centrally mounted with respect to the connectors I4, or rather that the connectors I4 are oi center with respect to the holes I8 through the insulator block7 and the axes of the contact prongs. This arrangement gives selectivity -in the mounting of the contact prongs with respect to the connectors, and thus gives selectivity in the position of the connectors across the insulator block. By this means accommodation may be made in the From each of the connector-seating position of the connectors with respect to the electrical instrumentality which they connect with. the contact prongs of the assembly. For example, if there be alternatively usable two fused disconnects purposed for different voltages, and having their fuse clips arranged with slightly different spacing, accommodation to this difference in spacing may be made by adjusting the position ofthe connectors with respect to the fixed relations of the contact-making assembly, such as those established by the holes I8 through the insulator block and the spacing .between contact prongs required by the spacing between the busbars with which they make contact.

The adaptability of my contact-making assembly ior inclusion in various current control or- Y ganizations, or current take-ofi devices, is further illustrated in Figs. VI and VII of the drawings. The structure shown in these figures of the drawings is identical as to the form of the insulator block I5 and the mounting of the contact prongs 4 and their guard 29 with relation to the insulator block. The mounting of the connectors in the insulating block and their attachment to the .contact prongs is also identical. The mounting of the connectors is by means of machine screws Il and the attachment of the connectors tothe contact prongs is by means Vof rivets IB, as in the preceding iigures of the drawings. The connectors themselves are of somewhat diier-ent forni from those shown in the preceding jnures of the draw-.- ings. These connectors 3i) include each a v.base 30a attached to the insulator block and Ito contact prongs, and has an upward and forward extension giving the connector the form of the letter J lying upon its longer leg. The upper .and forwardly extending portion 35D of each of the connectors has ,threaded therein a terminal screw 3I, which makes contact with a conductor strap 32 Vleading to the interior of a circuit breaker .33, the outline of which is shown in broken lines in Figs. VI and VII. A second conductor strap 34, equipped with a terminal post Y35;, is show-n vleading from the other end of the circuit breaker.

. Both the circuit breaker itself `and my contactA- making assembly are housed within a suitably constructed box 36.

These gures of the drawings illustrate clear.- ly the manner in which my adapter unitcomposed of Vassembly of insulator. block, contact prongs, and connectorsv is adaptable to use with current control means of diierent sort, or ,tor-direct connection to apparatus in which the cur.- rent is used. The assembly thus may be'zincor.- porated in current take-off devices differing wide. ly in their structural organization, by changing at most only the specic form of the connectors which are included in the assembly. It will `be clear that this greatly simplies both the .manufacture and use of current take-oir devices which may be particularly .suitable for use in association with particular installations of electrical distribution systems.

Generally considered the `connectors .of the assembly may be of any convenient form provi-ded Ythey are constructed and arranged for appropriate mounting in the insulator block ofi the assembly and are arranged for Vconnection rh the bases of the contact prongs. Numerous other changes in and modiiications of the structure herein shown and described may vvbe made while remaining within the ambit -of my invention `as defined in the .appended claims.

I claim: Y Y

l. In a current take-oir assembly including acasing arranged to house a current-control device and electrical connection therefor, an adapter unit mountable in the casing to provide electrical connection therein for current control devices of diierent structure and arrangement, the said adapter unit comprising in integrated assembly an insulating block and a plurality of velectrically conductive elements each consisting of contact prongs projected from one face of the block for contact with the conductors of an electrical distribution system and a terminal structure attached t0 the contact prongs of the element and secured to the block, independently of such attachment for mounting the contact prongs in the said insulating block, the said electrically conductive elements being as a unit removable and replaceable with respect to the operatively with an electrical control device therein comprising an integral insulating block,

contact prongs carried by the contact block for extension beyond the contact block and a casing in which it is housed, tubular insulating guards mounted on the block and surrounding the said contact prongs and terminal elements having electrical connection with the said contact prongs mounted on the said insulating block in cooperative arrangement with respect to a control device associated in the said casing and removable from the block independently of the said guards for replacement by terminal elements formed for cooperation with particular electrical control devices in the said casing and forming part of the current take-off assembly.

3. In a current take-ofi' assembly including a casing arranged to house a current-control device and electrical connection therefor, an adapter unit mountable in the casing to provide electrical connection therein for current-control devices of different structure and arrangement, the said adapter unit comprising in integrated assembly an insulating block, tubular insulating guards mounted on the block and projecting from one of its faces, a plurality of terminal structures dismountably secured to the block independently of the mounting of the guards, and contact prongs attached to the said terminal structures and being by them mounted to the block, the said contact prongs projecting from the block and through the respective guards for contact with the conductors of an electrical distribution system, the said assemblies of terminal structures and contact prongs being unitarily removable and replaceable with respect to the block and the guards mounted thereon to provide diierently arranged terminals in adaptation within the casing to current-control devices of different structural arrangement.

JOHN E. HUGUELET. 

